Padilla has opposed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies from the start of Trump’s second term. As part of his protest, Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when he tried to confront her on the administration’s policies.
Now, border czar Tom Homan is the focus of Padilla’s ire. The California senator lamented the factors Homan is using to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in order to fulfill Trump’s mass deportation effort.
“I mean, Homan has said it very clearly in other interviews: They‘re not even asking for, you know, significant findings to detain people. They‘re going based on appearance — his words, not mine — based on occupation — His words, not mine — based on accents, you know, physical appearance,” Padilla said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
“What if I was outside a Home Depot? Because I like to do some work around the house, not dressed in a suit. Would I be a target of ICE enforcement under Tom Homan? Probably,” Homan added. “And it‘s just wrong. It‘s not just due process rights that have become the concern, but racial profiling.”
CNN host Dana Bash interjected to correct the record.
“I basically asked him about that,” Bash said. “He said that he‘s being misunderstood, that it‘s factors with an ‘S’ and not a factor, like the way somebody looks or the way they talk.”
Padilla is cosponsoring a bill with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to expand the identification requirements for ICE officers and agents and suspend their use of masks while on the job. According to Padilla, the legislation would help the public understand that they are law enforcement rather than perpetrators performing what looks like a “kidnapping.”
PADILLA PUSHES BILL BANNING ICE OFFICERS FROM CONCEALING IDENTITY AMID UPTICK IN ATTACKS
“It‘s for the safety of officers and agents as well as safety for the community and to protect against people exploiting the circumstances, impersonating ICE agents and getting involved with burglary, theft, kidnapping, sexual assault, and worse,” Padilla explained.
DHS stood by its officers using masks, claiming they “protect themselves from being targeted by known and suspected gang members, murder[ers], and rapists.”
